


The Elders' Family

by Venbeth



Category: Yonderland (TV)
Genre: Ambiguous Relationships, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-19 01:28:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29742903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Venbeth/pseuds/Venbeth
Summary: The Elders (and their Youngers!) are one big, happy familyA series of pieces on that theme though they do not necessarily form one big story; you can theoretically read them individually. I've marked it completed for that reason though I will probably dip back in from time to time.
Relationships: Chief Elder Choop & Vice Elder Flowers & Scribe Elder Ho-Tan & Lord Elder Pressley & Wise Elder Vex, Chief Elder Choop/Vice-Elder Flowers/Scribe Elder Ho-Tan/Lord Elder Pressley/Wise Elder Vex
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> This was partially inspired by the fluffy pieces already written about the Elders as a family, partially inspired by the scene where they watch Miss Smashing and also by Elf making a remark about family rows at Thanktival.  
> So behold - a family of six adults and their six children, most of whom all use he/him. (Ho-Tan uses she/her and Neville uses they/them.) I may not have thought it through fully but anyway. I hope you enjoy!  
> I gave the Elder Youngers names of their own for the purpose of this fic and here's the list so you're not confused:  
> Elder Younger Vex - Vale  
> Elder Younger Ho-Tan - Alfie  
> Elder Younger Pressley - Jesse  
> Elder Younger Choop - Finn  
> Elder Younger Trevor - Neville  
> Elder Younger Flowers - Florice

There were only six elders now. Once there had been twelve but slowly as the overlords – led by Imperatrix – had taken over the lands their numbers had dwindled. Nestor of Maddox had escaped to Earth. Cuddly Dick had been imprisoned. Judith had _died_. The remainder had either been taken by Imperatrix or stepped down, fearful for their lives. So now it was just the six of them. Wise Elder Vex, Chief Elder Choop, Vice Elder Flowers, Scribe Elder Ho-Tan, Lord Elder Pressley and Trevor. Trevor wanted a title too but they’d run out and didn’t know what to title him, so he just stayed Trevor The Blob.

Their home wasn’t empty though, they had the Youngers to keep them busy and the place alive. And of course, they had each other. They were family after all.

Debbie hadn’t really understood that at first. It was more usual in her world for people to marry one person, to cohabit with them and raise children with that person alone. She’d asked after the Youngers after meeting them Thanktival and asked about their parents. She’d been surprised when the Elders had said that the Youngers were all of theirs.

“Yes but what about their mothers?” she had asked.

“I’m their mother,” said Ho-Tan, affronted.

“I know that, but where are their birth mothers?” Debbie looked around at the Elders and took in their confused faces. The penny dropped. “…children aren’t born here the same way they are in my world are they?”

“Debbeh, children are not _born_ they are brought by storks.”

Debbie nodded like she didn’t believe him. “Sure they are,” she muttered under her breath. “Couldn’t have gotten _that_ part of Yonderland, could I.”

So now it was the six of them, their six youngers and one large building. The Youngers had moved to the top floor by themselves and the Elders were in the corresponding rooms on the floor below. The children had been quite excited to learn that they would all get their own rooms, though Jesse had been a bit put out because he thought Neville had a bigger room than him.

“But Neville is only small,” Jesse had protested. “They don’t need all that room!”

“Now, Jesse,” Choop had reasoned, “Neville may be small at the minute, but they will grow.” Neville had puffed themself up at that and wobbled across the room as fast as they could manage, as if to prove that they were growing and deserved the big room.

Mostly all was happy in the Elders’ home.

They all had different opinions about what one ought to have for breakfast so made that themselves and ate when they fancied. Choop wasn’t a morning person and neither was Finn, if he had anything it was just juice (though sometimes he did steal some of the other youngers breakfast). Flowers liked muesli and usually Florice followed his example. Vex and Vale ate toast slathered in jam. Pressley and Jesse would have fruit or maybe a pastry on special occasions. Ho-Tan and Alfie liked to try new things. Trevor and Neville didn’t eat (no mouth).

They tried to make dinner a family thing though and took it in turns to cook. Ho-Tan had acquired quite a collection of recipes especially for special occasions. Pressley gave good advice and Flowers was enthusiastic, but they were a little hazardous in the kitchen. To tell the truth, Debbie wasn’t sure how any of them had survived this long with how reckless and dangerous they were when cooking.

She didn’t see them in the evenings though – all squished onto the two settees, pressed up against one another. Vex next to Choop, batting his hair out of the way, Ho-Tan with her arm around Pressley and Flowers in the middle, nude apart from the blanket that was stretched across their laps. Trevor was on the rug in front of them. He said there was more chance of not being sat on that way. The other couch was for the youngers. They were all wrapped up, limbs everywhere, and Neville perched safely on Alfie’s knee. Pressley sometimes joked that they were like a twelve limbed creature – unable to tell where one ended and the other begun.

They might have had problems running Yonderland and quelling disaster, but the Elders were very good at being a family.


	2. Ho-Tan and Coming Out

Things hadn’t always been so smooth though. Not at the beginning. Not when they all moved in together properly. Not when Ho-Tan came out.

They had all been walking home from the pippletree and Ho-Tan had been quieter than usual. He was always one of the quieter elders, but Flowers was a little worried.

“Are you okay, brother?” he asked.

“I’m not sure,” Ho-Tan replied.

“Is it about your wish?”

Ho-Tan looked down at his feet. “Yes.”

Flowers stopped walking and caught Ho-Tan’s arm. “We love you, you know that, right? We’ll always love you. You’re one of us no matter what.” Ho-Tan smiled at Flowers, but he still looked upset.

Ho-Tan had been…moping about the chambers since Imperatrix had been vanquished which wasn’t really the appropriate reaction. All the other Elders were happy that things could get back to normal. But Pressley was worried. Ho-Tan was quite out of sorts. He cornered him one afternoon in the garden.

“Is everything alright, Ho-Tan?”

Ho-Tan looked up from the flowerbed he was trailing fingers into on his meander. “Oh, yes. Everything is just dandy.” Then he wandered on, leaving Pressley leaning on his cane and looking after Ho-Tan’s departing back with concern. Everything was clearly not fine, but Ho-Tan wouldn’t talk about it and Pressley didn’t know what else he could do.

Vex found Ho-Tan in the library, looking at a book and running his fingers across the words but not turning any pages. Something definitely wasn’t right.

“Ho-Tan?”

He started and immediately sat up straighter, as if to give the impression he was deeply engrossed in reading, before turning to face the doorway. “Yes, Vex?”

“We are all a little worried about you, you’ve not been yourself recently.”

“I’m quite alright, no need to worry at all,” Ho-Tan said, trying to sound jovial but failing miserably. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have somewhere to be.” With that he snapped the book shut and made a hurried exit. Vex’s brow furrowed. Something really wasn’t right.

Trevor had tried joining Ho-Tan on one of his walks, thinking that he might be more relaxed that way, but Ho-Tan had gone at such a speed his walk was more of a sprint and Trevor found it hard to keep up, never mind make conversation.

“No success,” he reported to the other elders afterwards.

“Well it’s down to you then, Choop,” Pressley said. “The rest of us have all tried our best with no results.”

Choop carefully watched Ho-Tan and timed his entrance to the kitchen just as he was pulling out a pan to make food.

“How’s things?” Choop asked. Ho-Tan jumped.

“I’ve just realised I’m not hungry,” he said and all but ran out of the room.

“Nothing,” Choop said to the others later. “I’d barely said a thing before Ho-Tan was off like a shot.”

“We need help,” Pressley said. “This isn’t going to sort itself out.”

“We need to ask Debbeh,” said Vex. “She’s the Chosen One, she’ll know what to do.”

“Of course!” said Choop. “Flowers, you find Elf.”

“A problem with Ho-Tan?” Debbie said. “I’ll see what I can do.”

So Debbie invited Ho-Tan to her house for tea. Ho-Tan knew it was a trick but also, Debbie’s world was so interesting he couldn’t resist saying yes.

They were sat at Debbie’s kitchen table, steaming cups of tea in front of them when Debbie decided to launch right into it.

“I hear you’ve been a bit down in the dumps lately?”

Ho-Tan looked confused. “Not at all, I’ve only been around the chambers recently.”

“No I mean, you’ve been a bit unhappy.”

“Oh!” Ho-Tan looked down at his hands on the table. “A bit, yes.”

“Do you want to tell me about it? I won’t tell the other elders if you don’t want me to.”

Ho-Tan let his hair flop forward and hide his face from Debbie.

“I can’t stop thinking about the pipplefruit,” he muttered. “I want to be a woman.”

Debbie reached across the table and took Ho-Tan’s hand. “Is that it?” she asked. “You can be a woman if that’s what you want.”

Ho-Tan’s head jerked up. “I can?”

Debbie nodded. “One of my friends is like you. We call it being transgender.”

“It’s not just me?”

Debbie shook her head. “There’s lots of people who are transgender.”

Ho-Tan squeezed Debbie’s hand. “Thank you, Debbie. That means a lot.”

“I’m glad I could help. Now you’d better go and tell the others you’re alright. They were worried.”

“I will, Debbie, I will.”

Ho-Tan leapt up from the table and gave Debbie a swift hug before going back through the portal.

 _Yonderland, honestly_ , Debbie thought, _how_ did _they solve anything without her?_


End file.
